Peeta does not understand how he killed the fox-faced girl, and Katniss has to explain it to him. The berries Peeta collected are called nightlock in District 12, and he has used them in ignorance to take out another tribute. Katniss reflects that the fox-faced girl was probably the smartest of all the tributes; she then considers that there is a danger in overestimating opponents in the Hunger Games. Peeta warns Katniss that Cato is likely coming, but she disagrees, reasoning that Cato will assume they hunted down the fox-faced girl and are waiting to ambush him as well. So they make a fire and cook their food.

Katniss suggests that they try to climb trees and spend the night in the safety of the branches. However, Peeta explains that he will not be able to climb anything with his weight and his injured leg. At first Katniss is irate, but then she realizes she has been bossing Peeta around all day. She kisses Peeta’s cheek and they return to their cave. There, Katniss kisses Peeta again, and this time she does it for herself.

Katniss considers her final opponent. Cato is reckless and violent. He is a Career tribute, which means that he has been trained to kill others in the Hunger Games. When Katniss destroyed the Careers’ supplies, Cato lost control of himself and brutally murdered the boy from District 3. He has also killed Thresh. Katniss reflects that everyone up to this point may well have been just a training exercise in comparison to Cato.

The next day, Katniss and Peeta finish eating and leave the cave. Outside, they discover that the pond has been drained. The Gamemakers are trying to herd the remaining three tributes to the lake near the Cornucopia. Katniss and Peeta start making their way back to where the games began. However, before they can arrive, they stop and listen to the mockingjays sing Rue’s song. The harmony of Rue’s four notes is suddenly interrupted.

Cato is rushing madly toward them. Katniss looses an arrow at his chest, but it bounces off. Cato now has armor. When Cato reaches the tributes from District 12, he does not try to kill them. Instead, he passes them and keeps running away. In the distance, Katniss can see a pack of creatures running toward her. Without hesitation, she starts running for her life.